TIGblogs - Dave Matthews

--- Student "T." wrote:

Hello

I am a year 6 student who is required to do a paper on civic action. I am not sure if I understand what it is. Could you please tell me if I am headed in the right direction.

I think civic action is to bring people together for a common interest to build a strongher community through information sharing. Is this right?

Thanks, "T."

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Hi "T." --

Thanks very much for your note inquiring about a definition for the term "civic action."

The definition that you offered seems like a very good one to me.

In books about the subject, a number of different ways of defining the terms "civic action" and/or "community development" have been offered. The ones I've found to be most satisfactory tend to be quite similar to yours.

The circumstances in which civic action efforts take place have been changing dramatically in recent years, due to the the ever-widening availability of
electronic communications such as television, and -- particularly -- the Internet.

In the "olden days," one of the chief problems of civic action workers in rural or remote areas was first to help people realize that solutions to their
long-standing problems -- as well as opportunities for greater prosperity and more fulfilling ways of life -- might be achievable. People were so accustomed to the "status quo" that quite a bit of "consciousness raising" activity was necessary to awaken them to new possibilities.

Then, of course, came the tasks involved in helping them learn about of the kinds of group cooperation, and the information and resources that could be made available, to analyze and understand the causes of their problems -- as well as the types of action and effort that could be effective in enabling them to overcome those problems.

Today, with the increasing availability of television as a "window" to the wider world, people in even some of the most rural and remote areas require very little "consciousness raising" to help them become aware of different and potentially improved ways of life. Today, they are much more likely to be "champing at the bit," willing and eager to lean how they can "plug in" to improvements that will make their individual lives easier, and their communities more prosperous.

Also in the "olden days," civic action workers tended to operate as single individuals -- much like the old-fashioned horse and buggy country doctor. Today, civic action projects are increasingly carried out by small groups or organizations working in their respective communities or target areas. If we stick to the foregoing analogy, these small civic action groups might be likened to small multi-function rural clinics or hospitals, in contrast to the individual rural doctor.

Instead of being limited to a focus on "the single most significant and outstanding problem" of a community, recent experience indicates that the modern and more productive approach is to try to help community residents tackle a number of their most critical problems simultaneously (if the levels of available staffing and resources permit a multi-pronged approach).

The reason for this is that the "causes and conditions of poverty" tend to be inter-linked and mutually reinforcing. If we attack only the single most outstanding one, the "spider's web" of negative influences tends to be resilient and self-restoring. Therefore, if there is any way to attack five or six of the most critical problems simultaneously, we have the best chance of making genuine and lasting progress.

The other advantage of a multi-pronged approach is that different people in a community will be most personally interested and concerned about different
problems. By undertaking a variety of simultaneous efforts, we create more opportunities for everyone in the community to become involved in whatever ways that best suit their individual talents, interests, and concerns.

Of course, with these benefits comes the risk that a civic action effort having very limited resources may try to "jump on its horse and ride off in all directions at once" !! To paraphrase the words of the famous movie character, "Dirty Harry," we have to know our limitations, and not bite off more than we can chew.

As I'm sure you are aware, there is much more available information about the subjects of "civic action" and/or "community development" that you can find by Google searchs for those subjects, and by exploring the web site of The Civic Action Free University, at:

http://www.tcafu.net

(Note: Because the Free University site is quite large, the best way to become familiar with it without being overwhelmed by its size is to print it out, and then go over it with a highlighter pen, marking the sections you would like to go back and look at on-line.)

Although I don't want to confuse you with far more information than you need or want, you'll find quite a lot of useful material in Sections B., C., and D. of the following web page:

http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/yourturf/ca4ytlinks01b.htm

Also, there is a collection of quotations and observations pertaining to civic action on the Free University's "Disclaimer Page," at:

http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/yourturf/disclaimer.htm

Finally, if you would like an "instant bibliography" that identifies some of the best currently available books covering these topics (which you may then be
able to find in your local library at no cost), go to to Amazon.com, click on the topic of "Books," and do a search for: community development.

When I did that just now, I got 7702 hits, presented in batches of 12 each:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/102-3264702-0330538?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=community+development&Go.x=8&Go.y=9&Go=Go

If you can obtain the first 12 books listed from your library and read them, you will be well on your way toward becoming a "world class" expert on the subjects of community development and civic action !!

I hope you will find the above information to be helpful. If you have additional questions or I can be of further assistance, please let me know.

Best wishes, Dave Matthews
Facilitator, The Civic Action Free University
http://www.tcafu.net
E-Mail Address: civact6@yahoo.com

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